Placemaking + Neighborhoods
As La Villa Hispana continues to crystallize as a cultural hub, the neighborhood is amplifying the sounds, sights, and smells that make it so special—and events like La Placita and new spots like Las Tienditas are enticing all of Greater Cleveland to experience them.
Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood has long been known as a bastion of the arts, anchored by Karamu House. Now the community is tapping into its rich cultural tradition to create new projects that will interest young people in getting involved in revitalization efforts.
For an “undeniably Cleveland” experience, try exploring the Lorain Avenue Antiques District for an enjoyable Saturday afternoon.
Meet the local heroes working to restore a sense of safety in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood.
Fairfax’s roots run deep. As the neighborhood undergoes a renaissance, projects like Griot Village and Innovation Square serve not only to attract new residents but to convince the next generation to make Fairfax a permanent home.
FreshWater is "on the ground" this summer in Fairfax, and we want you to ride with us. As part of our On the Ground community reporting series, we'll be hosting a bike tour of neighborhood highlights, followed by a panel discussion.
When their Love Letter to Cleveland mural in Ohio City succumbed to the weather in 2017, Laura and Gary Dumm launched a campaign to resurrect their beloved public art. Now it will be displayed outside the Cleveland Memory Project at CSU.
When 76-year-old Fairfax resident Walter Stanley attends a community meeting with a packed room, he sits close to the presenters so he doesn’t miss a thing. And at a recent Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) meeting this spring, there was plenty to take in as residents and stakeholders provided input on the Cleveland Board of Education’s budgetary decisions concerning the fate of Fairfax’s Bolton Elementary School.
Third Space co-founder Evelyn Burnett says the point of the workshops is simple: to build awareness around racial equity and inequity. More than 3,000 people from 700 organizations have attended the trainings, which are now offered monthly.
If someone had told a teenage Jasmin Santana that she would one day be the first Latina elected to Cleveland City Council, she probably wouldn’t have believed it.
From a dynamic duo bringing back Glenville to a Sudanese designer working on a welcome center for Irishtown Bend, these artists are changing the city's creative landscape.
Cleveland is a photographer's wonderland—just ask FreshWater's own Bob Perkoski. The same goes for Instagram aficionados, who can be seen snapping their way through the Land on the regular. With so many photo opps to choose from, we thought we'd do the legwork of compiling a list of the city's 12 most Instagram-worthy places with the help of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Earlier in June, Cleveland's newly minted chapter of the Awesome Foundation selected its first two grantees: BigHearted Blooms and Building Furniture to Build Futures. Both initiatives were awarded $1,000 by the recently formed group of 25 Awesome Foundation–Cleveland Chapter trustees—helping to turn two impactful ideas into reality.
A 1.07-acre plot of land at the corner of Lee and Meadowbrook Roads is about to be developed to comprise a total of 4.8 acres in the heart of the city's commercial district.
See our photographer Bob Perkoski's images of Clevelanders celebrating a river reborn.
When work began on the five-year action plan for La Villa Hispana in 2015, there was a lot of energy and electricity behind the scenes around transforming the neighborhood into a vibrant “intersection of culture and commerce,” but within the residential community, it barely made a ripple.
You likely know the unelected, unsung leaders in your community. They’re the ones volunteering at local events, spreading the word in online neighborhood groups, leading grassroots initiatives, and giving voice to residents who might not otherwise have one. But what you—and they—might not know is that there’s a free program dedicated to helping them harness their superpowers and make even more of an impact.
Right next to the newly christened Euclid Beach Pier, more than 550 community leaders gathered lakeside for the fifth annual Vibrant City Awards—presented by Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP) and Delta Dental and highlighting the best in local urban revitalization efforts.
What does the future for the 1976 Coventry School building look like? A new pilot program holds the key to finding out.
For the Shakarian-Kvidera family, the epic Cavs championship parade in 2016 turned into an epic trek through the city of Cleveland. The family of five walked from their home in Edgewater to downtown and back, earning a few more notches on their proverbial FitBit than they’d expected.